Danielle Collins grabbed the microphone from the reporter interviewing her at center court and addressed the crowd directly. They saw her as the villain again Thursday at the 2025 Australian Open, and she had decided to incite their boos – to use them as fuel on the tennis court once more.
Collins, the 31-year-old American, had already put her hands to her ears and blown mocking kisses before she even shook hands at the net with Australian Destanee Aiava after their second-round match in Melbourne. After advancing, Collins served up a parting shot initially intended as a backhanded thank you trolling her audience.
‘I was thinking during the match, I was like, ‘If I’m out here, I might as well take that big, fat paycheck,” she said, and the jeers grew louder. ‘We love a good, five-star vacation, so part of that check is going towards that. So thank you guys for that. Thank you for coming out and supporting us.’
‘The people that don’t like you, and the people that hate you,’ Collins explained later during her post-match news conference, ‘they actually pay your bills.’
For Collins, though, they represent a lot more than that. There’s more to this latest heel turn.
A year ago at the Australian Open, Collins announced she would be retiring from professional tennis at the end of 2024 season to focus on starting a family. In October, a few months before embracing her inner villain so overtly, Collins announced on Instagram she would be returning to the WTA following the discovery of fertility complications related to endometriosis, a condition she suffers from that affects the uterus.
Collins opened up further about the decision to postpone her retirement last week before the Australian Open started, noting the physical and mental challenges have taken a toll in recent months.
‘I’ve had days consistently where I cry every day, freaking out, and it’s not a fun thing,’ she said, and the support system of the women’s tennis tour is helping her through this difficult period in her life.
‘I know I said I was retiring, but unfortunately life threw me some curveballs and here I am. I’m just trying to enjoy it a little bit longer,’ Collins added. ‘My closest friendships are a lot of the women on tour, a lot of the people on tour. You think about that lifestyle change when you’re going through something that’s so challenging emotionally, and then to not have that support system, yeah, that’s a lot. I’m glad that I can keep doing this for a little longer and have that.’
Collins hasn’t committed to how long she’ll continue to play professionally. She said her medical team is still determining the best course of action in her pursuit of having children. That uncertainty led her back to the court.
‘I couldn’t imagine right now laying the rackets down,’ Collins said, and nothing about her recent performances suggests otherwise.
Collins played some of the best tennis of her career last year when it seemed it would be her last season. She won back-to-back tournaments, most notably the Miami Open, and currently sits at No. 11 in the world rankings. Her best career finish in a Grand Slam event came when she made the 2022 Australian Open final.
Coco Gauff and Novak Djovokic are among the tennis stars to recently praise Collins for her authenticity and willingness to speak her mind.
Her reaction Thursday was no different, right down to when she placed one of those mocking kisses on her rear end to really rile up the fans.
An Australian Open crowd wanted a villain, and Collins wanted to be one again.
For reasons that go beyond just winning a tennis match.
‘I loved it,’ Collins said. ‘I’ve been doing this my whole life. I love playing in a crowd that has energy regardless of what side they’re on. I’m somebody, too, it kind of just motivates me even more, so it’s kind of a good thing, especially when I’m not playing well. I think it really helped me in the end, helped me concentrate even more, and challenged me at times, and pushed me through the finish line.’